


Two Sides of the Same Coin

by lovesnarf (snarfette)



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, Magic, Merlin AU, Royalty, based on an episode from the TV series Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-04-29 18:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14478159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarfette/pseuds/lovesnarf
Summary: Merlin AU where Robert is the Crown Prince of Camelot (of course) and Aaron has magic (which is a secret).





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the beginning of a fic I posted on tumblr months and month ago. I'm not sure that posting it now is a good idea seeing as I also have my Big Bang fic to work on, but here it is anyway! 
> 
> Based on the Merlin episode from series 2, 'Sweet Dreams'. 
> 
> A bit of background knowledge of the show might be useful, but it's not essential. Basically, Aaron has magic and is the servant of Robert who is the Prince of Camelot (a kingdom where magic is banned and the use of it is punishable by death). Aaron uses his magic to keep Robert alive seeing as he constantly gets into trouble - he's been told it's his destiny to help Robert become the greatest king that Albion has ever known. Any questions, just let me know!

Robert enjoyed watching Aaron work.

There was something about Aaron pottering about in his bed chamber: tidying up, organising his clothes for the day, bringing him his breakfast, polishing his armour. The whole time he was busy, he’d be muttering under his breath about how Robert could have an army of servants but they’d still never get all of his tasks completed. And Robert loved sitting back in his chair or lying in his bed just watching. Not because he was cruel or wanted Aaron to run around after him (although sometimes he did enjoy that part), but because he just liked having Aaron’s presence nearby.  
  
Robert might have been the Crown Prince of Camelot but Aaron was so much more than his servant. Aaron had saved his life from a sorceress several years ago and suddenly found himself in the coveted position of manservant to the Prince thanks to his father’s interesting ideas about ‘rewards’.  
  
After a rather bumpy start to their relationship, where neither of the young men could actually stand the other, they’d actually found themselves becoming close. They were friends now. But secretly Robert had started to hope for more. He was sure he was falling in love with Aaron more and more each day and he was convinced that he saw the same feelings reflected back at him when he looked into Aaron’s striking blue eyes. Neither of them had acted on it. How could they? The massive barrier of their wildly different statuses was the first problem, but not the only one.  
  
Robert knew how his father would react to any inkling of a relationship between his son and his manservant, and the consequences would be dire. At best, his father would be angry and tell him to end his ridiculous dalliance with his ‘bed-warming’ servant, as though that was all Aaron was (and they hadn’t even shared a bed, but his father would just assume): at worst, Aaron would be banished from the kingdom or even executed if his father was feeling particularly cruel that day. It would be worse that Aaron was male; his father would never allow such things to continue.  
  
“I’ve laid out your ceremonial robes for this evening’s ball,” Aaron told him, interrupting his thoughts.  
  
Robert rolled his eyes. He really didn’t want to make nice with visiting dignitaries and their entourages as they thrashed out land boundaries and cemented loyalties to the Kingdom of Camelot, but he knew what was expected of him.  
  
‘You’re the Crown Prince, Robert. You must live up to the title.’ His father had reminded him enough times of his responsibilities. And it wasn’t that he didn’t understand all of that, but he didn’t always agree with his father’s methods and laws, so tension was often lingering between them.  
  
He allowed his head to fall forward and smack against his desk. “I’m sick. I’m not going,” he mumbled against the wood.  
  
Aaron chuckled. “Of course you’re going. I’ve washed and pressed your clothes now.” Like that was the deciding factor.  
  
“It’ll be boring,” Robert continued to complain. “And if I have to make nice with Lord White for another minute of my life, I think I might die.”  
  
“So dramatic,” Aaron said. “Isn’t it his daughter you need to watch out for?” He dropped a pile of folded clothes onto the desk near Robert’s head.  
  
Robert groaned loudly. “I’m definitely sick.”  
  
Aaron laughed brightly. “She can’t be that bad. I heard she’s quite beautiful.”  
  
Robert lifted his head at that and looked up into Aaron’s eyes. They gazed at one another for a long moment: Aaron’s smile fading into something softer.  
  
“I don’t care if she is,” Robert told him. “I’ve heard she’s quite the viper.”  
  
“Well, you know your father will be looking for someone to match you up with. ‘A king needs a wife, Robert’,” he added in his best impression of the king.  
  
“A king needs someone by his side that he loves and trusts, that can help him rule a kingdom,” Robert said simply.  
  
Aaron tore his eyes away, focusing on the piles of clothes on the table top. He cleared his throat slightly. “I’m sure your father will have lots of people lined up for you to meet. You’ll have fun at the ball.”  
  
“I’d rather stay up here with you for the evening.”  
  
Aaron paused in turning away from the table. “You know you can’t. You have duties to the kingdom, sire.” He didn’t wait for a response from Robert, quickly picking up his empty breakfast tray and heading for the door.  
  
Sighing, Robert watched him go. It had taken him months to get Aaron to use the correct formalities and titles when addressing himself or other members of the royal court when he had first taken his role as manservant (it seemed that he found it particularly hard to remember what to call Robert in those first few months, and Robert had been sure he’d heard some rather offensive names muttered under Aaron’s breath as replacements).  
  
But as the years had gone by, Aaron had become a natural. In public or the presence of any of the more stuffy members of court, Aaron was always a model servant. Privately, when it was just the two of them, or they were with friendlier company such as his sister or Robert’s knights, Aaron usually just called Robert by his name, or occasionally something that was completely inappropriate to call a prince such as ‘idiot’, and Robert, surprising even himself, quite liked that. It said a lot about how far they’d come. But then, occasionally, something would happen and Aaron felt the need to solidify the fact that they were master and servant, and without even knowing what had happened, Robert would be back to ‘sire’ or ‘my lord’ and he hated it.  
  
Robert didn’t think that Aaron was oblivious to the growing desire between them. He couldn’t possibly have mistaken the way that Robert looked at him sometimes. But it seemed that Aaron was the one who refused to let it go any further. He was always the one to halt Robert in his tracks if his words became too close to a declaration of any sorts.  
  
Robert supposed Aaron had more to lose than him if things went badly between them or his father found out. Robert sleeping with his servant would be put down to a mere indiscretion, a young prince enjoying his freedom and getting his pleasure wherever he liked. For Aaron, the discovery of something going on between him and the Prince could mean the loss of his livelihood, exile or even death. Robert sighed again. Maybe when he was king, things would be different.  
  
Robert had no idea that Aaron was terrified of getting any closer to him for an entirely different reason: fear that he would discover his most closely guarded secret. Aaron had magic.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the positive feedback on the prologue - I love to hear what you think. And it motivates me to keep writing!

Robert had watched the arrival of every single visiting dignitary from the surrounding kingdoms. He’d stood dutifully beside his father on the steps of the castle, in the baking heat of the day, and welcomed each one graciously to Camelot. They had all come seeking a lasting peace that would unite the kingdoms in the face of threats from far and wide. That was the plan anyway. Robert couldn’t help but wonder if every single Lord that bowed slightly to his father and clasped his hand like an old friend was actually ready to swear an oath of allegiance and sign a treaty that would bind them all together for years to come, or whether some of them still wanted the throne of Camelot for themselves.

Peace was what the land needed. Too many lives had been lost to wars and petty disputes about land boundaries and allegiances. Peace would bring much needed stability to Camelot and its neighbours, as well as the promise of support in the face of an attack. The people of Camelot deserved peace and, despite Robert’s grumbling about having to play nicely with the visitors, he was willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve that for the kingdom.

While Robert had been busy greeting the guests alongside his father, Aaron had loyally stood close by. Sometimes it felt like Aaron was his shadow, always there with him, except Robert would never have called him that. For one thing, Aaron wasn’t silent. He wasn’t known for his conversational skills, but he certainly wasn’t afraid to tell Robert what he thought of him - frequently and without any care for the fact that Robert was a prince. And Robert could never have described him as a shadow because he was far more important than that. It was easy to forget that a shadow was there; the same could never be said about Aaron’s presence.

Most of the arriving parties were as dull as Robert expected them to be and he couldn’t help but seek out Aaron’s face when they’d turned away from him so he could roll his eyes. Robert knew that one day he’d be responsible for all of this and he knew his responsibilities - he always played his part impeccably in the royal court - but he’d much rather be at training with his knights or out on a hunt in the forest. He liked action, not debating who could have access to which roads and how taxes were to be collected.

A herald announced the arrival of yet another guest and Robert immediately knew which one it was. Lord White rode through the archway and into the courtyard, alongside one of his daughters. White was notoriously awkward when it came to these meetings but he’d made a tentative friendship with the king over the recent years. Everyone knew that Lord White could be kept happy if his ego was pandered to and as long as no-one made any attempt to ‘court’ his daughters. It was ridiculous seeing as they were both grown women with minds of their own, but White was overly protective of them following the scheming of his eldest daughter’s first husband. Now, he trusted no man near his daughters and everyone knew that to even smile at them in the wrong way could lead to war.

And Robert wouldn’t be smiling at the daughter anyway. Aaron had been right in describing her as beautiful - she really was - but she wasn’t the sort of person that Robert was interested in. Her nose was stuck up in the air as she rode into the courtyard and when she surveyed her surroundings it was obvious she wasn’t impressed. When a servant moved over to help her from her horse, she snapped at him needlessly. The only time her face softened was when her son made his way to her, looking sullen at being forced to join the party, and she fussed over him like he was a young child, not nearly a man.

Robert couldn’t help but send a knowing look over his shoulder at Aaron, who raised his eyebrows in response and then stifled a laugh when Robert’s eyes widened as if to say, ‘and you said I’d have fun with this lot’.

“Your Highness, it’s good to see you again.”

Robert turned back round to see Lord White grasping his father’s hand.

“Lord White,” the King replied, “it is a pleasure to have you with us. I hope we will be able to finally work towards a lasting peace for our lands. How wonderful to see you have brought members of your family to join us.”

“My eldest daughter, Chrissie, and her son, Lachlan,” Lord White introduced them as they stepped forward.

Neither of them looked very impressed as the King greeted them.

“I’m sure you remember my son, Prince Robert,” the King said as he directed their attention.

Lord White shook Robert’s hand and they exchanged pleasantries. Chrissie hardly even looked in Robert’s direction after they’d been introduced, far too concerned with the trunks of her clothes that were being removed from the wagons that the entourage had arrived with, and her son scowled at Robert like he blamed him personally for having to come on the journey.

When they’d moved on, Robert couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, “Well, they were charming.”

His father looked at him sternly. “You do not need to like them - just keep them happy until they have signed the treaty. And stay away from the daughter.”

It was typical of his father to always expec t the worst of him, like he’d purposefully go out of his way to cause trouble and ruin everything. He bit down on the angry retort that bubbled within him: it wouldn’t do to make a scene in front of the visitors. “Believe me,” he ground out instead, “I have no intention of going anywhere near her.”

***

One of Robert’s duties was to ensure that the nobles were settled comfortably in the rooms that they had been allocated during their stay at the castle. After he’d run around checking that they were all satisfied, and sent Aaron off on all sorts of silly errands, he’d gone back to his own bedchamber and collapsed onto his bed.

It didn’t take long before the door creaked open and Aaron wandered in.

“What’re you doing?” he asked as he walked towards the bed.

“Resting,” Robert mumbled. “I’m tired.”

Aaron chuckled at him. “Yes, it must be  _exhausting_  running around after rich nobles all day. I don’t know how you’ve managed it. Good job you’re having a rest,” he said sarcastically, and a pillow was thrown off the bed in his direction in response. 

“Most of them were fine,” Robert said as he sat up on his bed. “But those Whites...uh, they’re awful. Lord White is so pompous, his daughter is impossible to please - her nose is stuck so far up in the air I’m surprised she can see where she’s going - and she looked at me like something she’d found on the floor of the stables, and that son of hers...I think he’d quite happily murder me and I have no idea why.”

Aaron rolled his eyes at Robert’s dramatics. “You have one of those faces,” he quipped. At Robert’s scandalised expression, he laughed and continued, “It’s not like _we_ got on very well when we first met, is it? I would’ve quite happily punched you in the face.”

“If you’d been fast enough to get near me,” Robert muttered in response.

It was true though. The first time they’d met, before Aaron had realised that Robert was the Prince of Camelot, he’d thought that Robert was an arrogant brat who needed to be brought down a peg or two. The pair of them had traded insults before getting involved in a rather misguided scuffle in the lower town, with Aaron sneakily using his forbidden magic in an attempt to best Robert (which Robert obviously had no idea about, even to this day), but ultimately failing as Robert’s years of combat training had made him quick on his feet. Aaron had ended up in the stocks for his efforts and had vowed to stay as far away from the stuck-up, muppet of a prince as possible. That was until he’d been the only one left conscious during an attempt on Robert’s life and had obviously had to react, saving the Prince’s life and landing himself the job of manservant. Even as he’d cursed his luck, he’d still wanted to punch Robert in his less-than impressed face.

Aaron quirked an eyebrow at him and Robert smirked back.

“They’re not here for long,” Aaron said, changing the subject as he gathered up Robert’s discarded clothes. “You just have to put up with them until the treaties are all signed and then you forget all about them.”

“I can’t wait,” Robert sighed. “They’ve only been here a matter of hours and I’m already sick of them. When they leave, I’d be happy if I never saw any of them again.”

“I’ll leave you to have a rest, seeing as you’ve had such a tough day so far,” Aaron said, not even attempting to disguise his sarcasm, as he picked up the various garments. “I’ll be back later to help you prepare for the feast.”

“Or you could help me escape,” Robert suggested with a pathetically hopeful expression on his face.

Aaron laughed a little. “You know our plans only ever work half of the time. And if you got caught sneaking out, that might be enough to start a war.”

Huffing out a deep sigh, Robert flopped back against his bed as Aaron shook his head and left him to his misery.

***

After Aaron had taken Robert’s clothes down to the laundry, cleaned them and left them hanging to dry, he’d gone down to the stables and tended to Robert’s horse, before visiting the armoury to collect Robert’s sword to take it to the blacksmith to be sharpened. When he’d completed his many tasks, he made his way back up to the tower where he lived in Paddy’s spare room.

He wandered in just as Paddy knocked a bottle of some concoction he’d been brewing off the table and Aaron immediately reacted, his magic reaching out instinctively to catch the falling glass before it smashed against the stone floor. His vision became edged with gold just as it always did when his magic flowed out of him and he felt the warmth inside his whole body, almost as though his power was happy to be released even for such a simple act of sorcery.

Paddy looked at him sharply and tutted. “What have I told you about that?” he hissed, looking beyond Aaron and out into the corridor. He rushed around Aaron and pushed the heavy wooden door closed. “You can’t just use magic whenever you like. How long have you lived here? Years now and you still haven’t learned? You’ll get yourself burnt at the stake one of these days if the King finds out.”

He rambled on as Aaron wandered over to the pot on the stove and ladled himself some stew into a bowl before sitting down to eat. He was starving after his busy day. He was always starving thanks to constantly running around after Robert.

“Are you even paying any attention?” Paddy asked him.

“Uh huh.” Aaron nodded, mouth full, as he looked at the man who was like a father to him.

Paddy rolled his eyes in exasperation. “How has it gone today? I saw the visitors arriving this morning.”

“It’s been fine,” Aaron said after he’d swallowed another mouthful of stew. “It always makes a lot of work having so many more nobles here, but it’s only for a few days.”

“And how’s the Prince coping? I know he’s not a fan of some of them.”

It was Aaron’s turn to roll his eyes. “Robert has pulled out all of his usual charm with them and then he does all of his complaining to me behind closed doors. He’ll be glad to see the back of the lot of them, I think. But hopefully he’ll be on his best behaviour.”

Paddy hummed lowly. “I think you should keep a close eye on him while there are so many guests in the castle. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the families had ulterior motives for being here.”

“What do you mean?” Aaron asked. He’d put the spoon down and was completely focused on what Paddy had to say. He always was whenever Robert’s safety was the topic of conversation.

Since arriving in Camelot, Aaron had discovered many things about himself. One of the most important was that his magic was a gift. A gift not just for him. Despite having no idea that Aaron even possessed magic, Robert’s life was linked to Aaron’s. They were “two sides of the same coin” as Aaron had once been told. And Aaron’s magic had been given to him to ensure that Robert would one day become the greatest king the land had ever known. And he could only do that with Aaron protecting him and ensuring that he claimed his rightful place as king one day.

Even if Aaron hadn’t known all about his and Robert’s entwined destinies, he still would have done everything in his power to keep Robert safe and help him make his way to the throne because he loved him. Regardless of the impossibility of anything ever happening between them, he loved Robert with all his heart.

Paddy hummed again. “Some of these Lords might be here under the pretence of wanting peace, but I’ve seen how they’ve behaved in the past. Peace isn’t necessarily a good thing in their eyes. Peace might ruin some of them and make them poor. War can mean profit for some.”

“Yeah, but no-one would dare try anything here. They wouldn’t make the effort to come all this way, pretend to want peace, just to attack members of the royal family with all of the knights and everyone here.”

“Ah, but maybe they’re more devious than that. You’re right: an outright attempt on their lives would be ridiculous. But something more underhand, some plot to harm the Crown Prince in some way - that would be enough for the King to burn the peace treaties and declare war.”

Aaron knew that what Paddy said was true. Despite Robert’s ‘difficult’ relationship with his father, the King would be enraged by anyone attempting to harm his son. The sad thing was Aaron didn’t know whether the King would be angrier about his son being hurt or the threat to the line of succession. He shook his head a little. “So you think Robert’s in danger?” Aaron asked, knowing the answer to the question already.

“Robert has been a target since the day he was born. Unfortunately, sometimes the enemy is closer than any of us realise.”

Aaron sighed. It wasn’t unusual for Robert to be in dangerous situations: it seemed like he was a magnet for trouble at times, and many of the incidents he got involved in seemed to be of his own making thanks to his often cocky attitude.

But, as always, Aaron would do whatever it took to keep Robert safe.

***

The feast was the usual loud, rambunctious affair. There was music and entertainment from court jesters. Each visiting noble had brought along someone in their entourage to entertain the gathered guests - this was a celebration of the peace that was to come, of course - so there was plenty going on all around the hall. Added to that, there was an enormous amount of food and the wine and ale was flowing freely. The King had insisted that his guests were impressed by Camelot and was taking the opportunity to flaunt the wealth and power of the kingdom.

The King was in good-cheer, slapping the various visiting Lords on the back as he mingled with his guests. Robert was doing an admirable job of pretending to be as enthusiastic as his father, although Aaron could see through his cheery mask.

Aaron was on duty, serving the guests as needed, his main responsibility being that Robert’s needs were met. For all of his lack of finesse as a servant when he was alone with Robert, Aaron performed his duties in public as well as possible. He was polite to the visiting nobles, he managed to serve food and drink without spilling anything, and he even held his tongue to avoid winding Robert up with comments that anyone else would have considered terribly rude when aimed at a prince.

Aaron’s attention was focused on Robert for the entirety of the celebrations. After hearing Paddy’s warning, he was mistrustful of each of the strangers in the castle, but it was impossible to watch all of them. It was far easier to keep close to Robert and monitor him.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he watched Robert try to avoid the Whites. His dislike for them was obvious to Aaron but fortunately the King didn’t notice how Robert skirted around them. Robert and his father had a strained relationship at the best of times, so if the King thought that his son wasn’t taking his responsibilities seriously, he’d have no qualms in telling him. However, it might have been the case that Robert’s father was actually glad his son was staying away from the Whites. Regardless of his desire for Robert to find a ‘suitable’ match, a woman from a well-established, powerful, noble family, maybe the Whites were too much even for him. If what Robert had said was true, it was probably best to keep his distance.

Thankfully, the feast ended without incident. It wouldn’t have been the first time that some enemy of the kingdom had interrupted the celebrations, whether it was by attempting to poison the Prince, or crashing through the stained glass window and challenging knights to duels, or generally just trying to mortally wound Robert or the King. Maybe those who sought to harm Camelot were becoming sneakier, or just more original, Aaron thought to himself as he loyally followed Robert back to his bedchamber to help him retire for the evening.

***

The hallways were silent and deserted. The footsteps on the stone floor made no sound as he crept through the castle.

His goal was simple. Make his way to the Prince’s room, sneak in and carry out the finishing touches to complete the enchantment.

He almost smirked to himself at how easy it was to enter the Prince’s chamber. The guards were on a regular, predictable patrol and, as soon as their backs were turned, he carefully lifted the latch on the heavy wooden door and slipped inside the room.

Crossing the room on silent feet, he approached the large bed where the Prince lay fast asleep and oblivious to the stranger in his chambers.

‘I could just as easily slit his throat,’ he thought to himself, but he held firm in his resolve to complete his task. Such a brutal attack was too bold. His plan would be far more successful in achieving his aims and no-one could trace it back to him.

Leaning over the bed, he placed the lock of brown hair he’d hidden in his pocket gently beneath the Prince’s pillow. Then he pulled the stopper from the glass vial he’d brought with him and carefully tipped a drop of the iridescent liquid onto each of the Prince’s closed eyelids. The Prince’s face scrunched slightly at the feeling, but he didn’t stir.

The final part of the plan was to cut a lock of the Prince’s own hair. As soon as the blond lock was between his fingers, he silently slipped away from the bedside.

“Sweet dreams, Prince Robert,” he muttered, a smirk pulling at his lips as he crept away from the room.


	3. Chapter 2

Finding Robert already up and dressed was enough to bring Aaron to an abrupt halt. He stared at Robert in shock, almost tempted to rub his eyes to check if he was imagining things. He would have done if he didn’t have his hands full with Robert’s breakfast tray.

“You’re...up,” he said and it almost sounded like a question.

Robert laughed brightly at him. “Of course I am,” he declared. “Lazing about in bed all morning would hardly make a good impression, would it?”

Again Aaron wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him. Robert never got out of bed any earlier than absolutely necessary and Aaron knew he had no commitments until later that morning.

“You’re dressed,” Aaron said. Again he knew he was stating the obvious, but he just needed a moment to get over his shock.

“Obviously,” Robert said as he rolled his eyes. “Really, I sometimes wonder about you, Aaron.”

“Sorry,” Aaron replied. “I’m just surprised. You’re not usually a morning person.”

Robert laughed again. “Well, it’s easy to get up in a morning when you have something to get up for. Or maybe I should say some _one_.” He winked at Aaron conspiratorially.

Aaron’s eyes widened a little at that and he quickly busied himself with laying Robert’s breakfast out on the table and then straightening out his bedding so that Robert wouldn’t see the look on his face. They’d come to a sort of unspoken understanding that their feelings for one another, whatever they were, had to stay hidden. They couldn’t share how they felt: it just wasn’t possible. So Robert’s comment and behaviour had caught him off guard, as much as his heart yearned to hear the sentiment repeated.

“Oh, don’t go all shy about it,” Robert said and Aaron actually jumped at how close the other man was standing to him suddenly. Robert beamed at him again. “There’s no point trying to hide it.”

Aaron felt completely flustered. He couldn’t understand the complete change in Robert’s behaviour, or the fact that he was talking about something that has been a secret for so long.

“I’m going to speak to my father as soon as I’ve finished breakfast,” Robert declared as he all but threw himself into his chair at the table.

“About what?” Aaron asked in bewilderment.

“My feelings,” Robert said, like it was obvious and Aaron was being particularly dim.

Aaron’s eyes widened and he nearly dropped the jug he was holding. “You _can’t_!” he gasped. Telling the King what they felt for one another...Aaron couldn’t even begin to imagine his reaction. Actually he could, and none of the scenarios ended well. How could Robert even be considering such a thing? Didn’t he know what was at stake?

Seemingly very unimpressed by his exclamation, Robert frowned at him. “Excuse me?” he said and he looked quite annoyed with Aaron for some reason. It wasn’t unknown that he didn’t take kindly to being told what to do, but surely he could see the danger of the situation: how speaking to the King would end in disaster.

Aaron stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if something was wrong with Robert. Maybe he was still drunk from the feast the night before, but Aaron was sure that he hadn’t even had that much to drink. He’d seen Robert drunk before: he’d had to guide him (staggering and slurring) back to his bedchamber and get him safely tucked up in bed. But that hadn’t happened last night. They’d both walked back to Robert’s room without so much as a stumble, so that couldn’t be it.

He spoke quickly to hopefully avoid Robert’s temper erupting. “I just mean that it’s...a delicate subject. You can’t just burst in to the King and announce...your feelings.” He felt a little embarrassed at discussing it all. It was such an off-limits topic between them. “You know how particular he is.” He was choosing his words carefully, not wanting to outright insult the King, but also knowing how Robert usually completely understood what his father expected of him and how easily he could fly off the handle if he deemed Robert to be a disappointment. “I’m sure he’s got plans for you: you know, who he intends you to marry and all that. And you can’t just announce that you have other intentions. You need to be...careful, sensitive.”

Robert frowned again, but seemed to be considering Aaron’s words. Eventually he hummed slightly in agreement. “You’re right,” he sighed and then he pushed himself out of his chair. “Good job I’ve got you,” he added with a smile. “I’m going to take my time...be ‘sensitive’ as you said. Maybe I need to build up to speaking to my father.”

He strode away from the table, hardly having touched his breakfast.

“Where are you going?” Aaron couldn’t help but ask. It was just that Robert was behaving so oddly.

“Well, as you’ve quite rightly pointed out, I can’t speak to my father yet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t show how I feel. I’ll just have to be discreet.” He winked at Aaron causing Aaron to smile slightly but look down at his feet to hide his pleasure at the gesture.

When he chanced a look back up, Robert grinned at him brightly before he seemed to skip out of the room, leaving Aaron to tidy up and complete his tasks in peace, as well as ponder Robert’s unusual behaviour.

***

It was highly unusual, but Aaron hadn’t seen Robert all morning after their strange conversation in Robert’s bedchamber. He’d tried to track him down at lunch time, but he’d had no success. He might have started to worry but he’d asked around and various people had seen him. The only odd thing was the fact that they’d mentioned seeing him carrying a bunch of flowers.

Aaron hadn’t had time to dwell on how Robert’s odd behaviour had continued, as he’d been tied up with helping Paddy with his work and visiting his patients all afternoon.

When he finally made it to Robert’s room at supper time, he found Robert looking rather sulky, sitting on his bed.

“Alright?” Aaron asked as he approached the bed, arms full of Robert’s ceremonial robes that he’d cleaned earlier in the day.

Robert scowled at him. It was a look that Aaron was used to and had seen many times over the years that he worked for the Prince. If Robert didn’t get his own way, the scowl would make an appearance. There was no verbal response from the Prince so Aaron tried again.

“Where’ve you been all day?”

Robert sighed heavily. “I’ve had a terrible day,” he said.

Aaron looked at him with raised eyebrows wondering what could’ve been so bad. He knew that Robert wasn’t exactly thrilled about the visitors to the kingdom but it wasn’t like he was being forced to spend the whole day with them or anything. And it wasn’t really like Robert to be quite so dramatic.

“I’ve spent the day trying to find ways to show how I feel. I thought about what you said and I’m going to be discreet, but I feel like nothing I do is good enough. My heart can’t cope with another rejection. It’s just hopeless.” He sighed again and looked at Aaron with such despair that Aaron’s heart melted a little.

He couldn’t believe that Robert was still so determined to make some sort of declaration, discreetly or otherwise, about how he felt. The need to keep their feelings for one another hidden just kept swirling around in Aaron’s head: it was dangerous to talk of how they felt. But Robert looked so disheartened, so pitiful, that Aaron couldn’t resist wanting to cheer him up somehow. And he really didn’t want Robert to misinterpret his caution from that morning as a rejection. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. He wanted Robert so much, so badly it almost hurt, but they couldn’t just shout it to the world. But at the same time, he didn’t want Robert to give up hope that one day, maybe, they could.

“Don’t give up hope, Rob,” he said gently. “The situation is...difficult, right now. And maybe you feel like your feelings aren’t being recognised, but, I promise you, they are.”

Robert blinked at him a few times and then smiled brightly. All traces of his earlier melancholy apparently disappearing. “You’re too good to me,” he said. And then he clambered off his bed and headed for the door. Before Aaron even had time to ask him what he was doing or where he was going, he’d left the room.

***

As Aaron made his way back to the tower after leaving Robert’s bedchamber, he heard giggling before he rounded a corner. When he located the source of the laughter, he realised it was two of the other servants and they tried to hush themselves as they saw him approaching.

“How’s the Prince?” one of them asked around her sniggers.

Aaron frowned at her. “He’s fine. Why do you ask?”

“Didn’t know whether he’d be nursing his broken heart,” the other girl commented.

Aaron’s own heart felt like it plummeted down to his shoes. What had Robert done? What if even after everything they’d discussed, Robert had still made some declaration to his father about his intentions?

“What...what are you talking about?” he managed to ask.

The girls giggled again. “We overheard the Prince earlier. He was trying to win over the Lady Chrissie, but she was having none of it. She slammed the door in his face and Prince Robert was _not_ happy.”

Something horrible twisted in Aaron’s gut at the words. There must have been some mistake. Robert couldn’t stand the Whites; he particularly disliked the stuck-up daughter so why would he be trying to ‘win her over’?

“I’m sure you’re mistaken,” he snapped. “And shouldn’t you be working instead of sitting around gossiping about members of the royal family.”

He hurried around them, hearing them start chattering as soon as his back was turned, and headed up the staircase to the tower where he lived with Paddy. His heart was pounding, his mind racing. There had to be a mistake. Or maybe he was reading too much into what they’d said. The thought of Robert attempting to woo someone else...it was awful.

He burst through the door and was met by Paddy’s concerned face. “What on earth is wrong?” Paddy asked. “You look like you’ve had a nasty shock.”

Aaron stared at the floor for a while as he tried to calm his thoughts enough to think straight. “I’m worried about Robert,” he finally managed to say.

“In what way?” Paddy asked.

“He doesn’t seem himself,” Aaron told him. He sat down heavily on the bench seat at Paddy’s table. “He’s been acting oddly and saying strange things. And, just now, some girls in the corridor were saying how he’d been, I don’t know exactly, but that he was trying to win over the Lady Chrissie, and that can’t be right. It just can’t be because he can’t stand her. He said so himself. So why would he be trying to get to know her?”

Paddy was looking at him with a bemused frown on his face. When Aaron had seemingly run out of steam, he finally spoke up. “Do you think, that just maybe, you’re letting your imagination run away with you? Maybe Robert was just performing his duties and offering the hand of friendship to the visiting families. You know what the King is like: he’s always pressuring Robert to do things like that, to live up to the image of what he thinks the Crown Prince should be. And I know I was the one who told you that Robert might be in danger, and you should keep a close eye on him, but do you really think that him trying to be friendly to the guests in the kingdom is really so strange that it means that something is wrong with him?”

Aaron considered Paddy’s words and let out a small sigh. Maybe Paddy was right.

“I know...I know it’s hard for you, feeling about Robert the way you do and knowing that you can’t act on it,” Paddy continued and Aaron ducked his head to avoid eye contact. He wasn’t good at talking about this stuff even if Paddy could apparently read his feelings like a book. “So maybe, you’ve put two and two together and come to the wrong conclusion because you were upset. And I don’t blame you for that. But I don’t think you should panic - I’ve seen the way Robert looks at you, you know. Maybe you just need to keep an eye on him - like always.”

Aaron finally looked up at him and smiled slightly, chewing on his lower lip a little. He was still worried, but Paddy’s words seemed sensible. He wasn’t going to overreact.

***

The following morning, an almost identical set of events occurred as the previous day. Robert was already up and dressed when Aaron arrived at his room. He made the same comments about having a reason to be up and making a good impression and then he slipped out of his room before Aaron could even attempt to stop him.

Aaron resolved to stay calm and set about completing the various morning tasks that needed to be done in Robert’s room. He would track Robert down later and stick to him like glue so he could keep an eye on him even if he had to use magic to do it.

He was disturbed from his chores by a knock on the door and when he opened it, his mouth flapped open at the sight before him. The Lady Chrissie was standing in the corridor wearing nothing but her nightgown and beaming brightly at him.

“Where is he?” she asked immediately, a sort of dreamy expression on her face.

“Uh...who?” Aaron replied, taken aback by not only her appearance, but the fact that she was so...under-dressed.

“Prince Robert, of course,” she snapped. “Why else would I be here?” She actually attempted to peer around Aaron like she thought Robert was maybe hiding behind him. “I’ve certainly not come to make conversation with a _servant_.”

Aaron held his tongue: he had no choice. She was a noblewoman; he was a servant. She could be as rude as she liked and, if Aaron didn’t want to end up in the stocks, he couldn’t say a word.

“He’s not here, my lady,” he said as politely as he could manage.

“Well, where is he then?” she snapped again. “I need to see him immediately.”

“I don’t know where he is, I’m afraid,” he told her, all the while thinking how pleased he was that Robert wasn’t there because the whole encounter was just bizarre and Robert would no doubt want nothing to do with it.

“Oh no!” she cried. “How can it be? I must see him. Am I to be denied forever?” She actually looked upset and Aaron hoped she wasn’t about to start crying.

“My lady, perhaps you should return to your chambers and get dressed and then you could properly search for him,” Aaron suggested, trying to tread lightly so as not to anger her or upset her further. If he got rid of her now, he’d have time to find Robert and warn him to hide. And then he could try to figure out what was going on and why everyone was acting so oddly.

The Lady actually pouted at the suggestion, but then she huffed and turned in a flurry of silk and lace undergarments and stormed off down the hallway, yelling at two unsuspecting servants who happened to get in her way. 

Aaron watched her go and then slammed the door shut, leaning against it for a moment and trying to get his head around what was happening. He’d only just pushed away from the door when it was thrown open, causing the wood to thud against the wall, and Lord White (followed by two of his men) strode into the room, his hand on the hilt of his sword as his eyes swept the bedchamber.  He looked furious as he scoured the room before his eyes landed on Aaron, standing in utter shock at the intrusion. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask the man what the hell he thought he was doing barging into Robert’s private chambers in such a manner, but he managed to restrain himself. 

“You,” Lord White barked as he pointed at Aaron, “where is she?” 

Aaron had a terrible feeling he knew who Lord White was searching for but he played dumb. “My Lord?” he said as innocently as he could manage.

“My daughter,” Lord White snapped at him. “I’ve just been told that she is here in the Prince’s bedchamber.”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, my Lord,” Aaron said. 

“Search over there,” Lord White commanded his two men, before he turned back to Aaron. “If I find out that you are lying to me and covering something up for that snivelling prince of yours, you will wish you had never laid eyes on him.” 

The nobleman took a step towards Aaron, his eyes blazing and his fist still clenched around the handle of his sword. His presence looming over Aaron was meant to be a threat to force him to reveal what he knew and, within him, Aaron could feel his magic fighting to be released, to defend himself from danger. His magic was calling out to him that he didn’t need to be bullied or bossed around by this man: he could destroy him with a twitch of his fingers. But Aaron forced it down; he forced his magic to be quiet and calm no matter how much it strained for release. Lord White was a noble - he could intimidate servants as much as he wanted because anyone below him in the ridiculous hierarchy of power meant nothing to him. For all of his great magic, Aaron was powerless to do anything, because reacting would be the end of him. If he spoke up, Lord White could demand that he was exiled from the kingdom for his insolence. If he used magic, the punishment would be so much worse. And either way, he’d lose Robert. 

“Lord White!” 

Robert’s anger-tinged voice interrupted the stand-off and the nobleman tore his eyes away from Aaron to glare at the Prince who had entered his bedchamber from the other door and was looking at the scene before him with annoyance on his face. 

Something inside Aaron - he knew it was his magic - calmed at the sound of his voice, like a wild animal that no longer felt cornered and threatened, but soothed and content. 

“What exactly are you doing in my bedchamber? And why are you acting so menacingly towards my servant?” Robert asked as he approached them. His hand was on the hilt of his own sword and Aaron wondered if this was the moment where the peace treaties were well and truly destroyed. 

Lord White pulled himself up to his full height and narrowed his eyes at Robert. “I had reason to believe that my daughter had found herself in your chambers.”

Something absolutely bizarre happened at his words: the anger at Lord White’s intrusion disappeared and a dreamy smile spread across Robert’s face. 

“If only,” Robert sighed wistfully, almost like he’d forgotten that anyone else was even in the room. 

Aaron’s eyes widened in shock and bewilderment, while Lord White’s face went puce with rage. 

“How dare you!” The nobleman erupted and it seemed to shake Robert from his reverie. 

He blinked at Lord White in confusion and then turned to Aaron with the same look. 

Aaron had to act fast to diffuse the rapidly escalating situation. Lord White believed his daughter’s honour was being questioned and Robert was standing there like he didn’t have a clue what he’d just said. 

“What he means, my Lord,” he said as he stepped closer to Robert to be alongside him just in case Lord White still decided to reach for his sword, “is that if your daughter were here, you would not have had a wasted journey and you would not have been tricked by someone who is clearly trying to make you look foolish.”

It was a gamble to make such a statement, but Lord White was proud and Aaron hoped that his attention could easily be shifted to protecting his own honour. 

Lord White spluttered a little and then seemed to come to the conclusion that his daughter wasn’t hidden away in Robert’s bedroom. He huffed and turned, beckoning his men to follow him and making no attempt to apologise to Robert or Aaron for his behaviour before he swept out of the door. 

Silence fell for a moment and Aaron used it to stare at Robert in absolute bafflement. 

Robert looked back at him and pulled a face. “Well, what a bizarre thing,” he said and then he laughed. “Not sure what he was going on about but I think I’d know about it if I had a beautiful woman in my bedchamber!”

Aaron couldn’t stop staring at him. There had to be something wrong with him. When Aaron had first realised that Robert was in the room, he’d been sure that the Prince sounded outraged, not only at finding his personal chambers invaded but also at Lord White’s behaviour towards Aaron. But in an instant his anger had dissipated and was replaced by...well, Aaron couldn’t figure out exactly what it was replaced by - some sort of weird, giddy behaviour that Aaron had never seen before.

“Are you feeling alright, Rob?” Aaron asked as he continued to stare at him. 

“Of course I am,” Robert declared. “Now, I must get to training - my knights won’t push themselves if I’m not there to nag them.”

He turned to leave the room and Aaron abandoned his jobs in order to follow him. He wanted to keep a particularly close eye on Robert for a while. He couldn’t put his finger on what was going on with him, but he knew Robert well enough to know that he wasn’t quite himself. 

***

Aaron had stuck by Robert’s side for the remainder of the day, not willing to let Robert out of his sight. He’d watched him closely, trying to pick up on any clues as to why Robert was a little ‘off’ but there was nothing obvious. Robert had put his knights through the usual gruelling training regime and took on several of them in training bouts, critiquing their footwork or demonstrating how they could counter a blow in a way they hadn’t considered before. He really was the greatest warrior in the kingdom, ‘trained since birth’ he’d always joked, and none of the knights (well-trained though they were) could beat him. 

There was nothing obvious that Aaron had been able to detect from watching Robert and he had actually started to relax a little as he sat outside in the sunshine observing Robert on the training ground. 

When they’d returned to the castle, Robert had requested a bath and once Aaron had prepared it for him, he’d left him alone. Before he’d left the room, he’d reminded Robert that he had to attend a meeting with the visiting nobles that evening and that his clothes were laid out on his bed. 

That was why Aaron was nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he stood in the council chambers waiting for Robert to arrive. The King had shot a questioning, annoyed look in his direction more than once. He, like everyone else, was waiting on the arrival of the Crown Prince and Robert showed no signs of walking through the door. 

The King’s face was getting more pinched by the moment: Aaron could see the clench of his jaw and the narrowing of his eyes, and he knew that Robert would be getting a dressing down from his father after the meeting was over (if he ever turned up, that was).

Suddenly, just as Aaron was about to exit the hall and go in search of Robert, the door swung open, but it wasn’t the Prince who appeared. Instead, Lord White’s grandson entered the room and scanned the assembled men. There was something smug about the look on his face and it immediately set Aaron on edge. He watched as the boy approached his grandfather and leant to speak quietly into his ear. 

“What?” White erupted and pushed himself out of his chair. 

“Is something wrong, Lord White?” the King asked as he too stood from his seat. 

Lord White’s face was red and twisted in anger as he glared at the King. It flashed through Aaron’s mind that he was either incredibly brave or ridiculously foolish to dare to look at the King of Camelot in such a way. 

“I’d say there was something wrong,” White ground out. “My grandson informs me that the reason that your son is missing from this meeting is that he is in my daughter’s chambers.”

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over Aaron as he heard the words. His heart stuttered but he forced himself to stay calm. Rushing from the hall, through one of the servant’s doorways, he immediately set off for the Lady Chrissie’s rooms. He didn’t need to hear anymore in the council chamber: he knew there would be a group of men, led by Lord White, heading to the lady’s room to discover the truth. And Aaron had to get there first. Something had suddenly clicked into place in his head and he’d realised that the only explanation for Robert’s unusual behaviour was that he was under the influence of some spell. Aaron knew that if he found Robert first, he could perform a counter spell, Robert would be released from whatever was controlling him, and the whole ridiculous situation could be explained away and forgotten about before Lord White declared war and Robert got himself into trouble. 

Aaron’s heart was racing as he ran along the corridor to the Lady Chrissie’s room. He reached the door and didn’t even bother to knock. If he was wrong, and Robert wasn’t inside, he could beg forgiveness for the intrusion (although he knew he’d most likely end up in the stocks for his behaviour) but he didn’t have time to wait to be invited in.

Throwing the door open, it felt like his pounding heart dropped to his stomach at the sight of Robert kneeling on the Lady Chrissie’s bed, the two of them wrapped in a heated embrace, kissing passionately. 

Tears stung his eyes, but he forced them away. ‘It’s not real,’ he told himself. ‘It can’t be real.’

Robert seemingly hadn’t even noticed his arrival in the room as he was so intent on kissing the woman on the bed. 

Aaron knew he had to act quickly. Any moment, Lord White would come marching along the corridor. 

He raised his hand and felt his magic rush to the surface of his consciousness. The edges of his vision glowed golden as he said the words of the spell aloud. “Abuge áglǽccræft.” He felt the surge of energy flow through him towards Robert but still the two on the bed kissed. 

“Abuge áglǽccræft,” he repeated more forcefully. Again his magic rush forward and his eyes glowed, but Robert just kissed the Lady Chrissie as though Aaron wasn’t even there.

He could hear heavy footsteps pounding down the stone hallway outside the room. “Abuge áglǽccræft,” he cried desperately. He knew it was his last chance: it had to work.

He watched in horror as Robert continued, oblivious to Aaron’s presence. He felt the tears welling in his eyes again. He’d failed. Or maybe he couldn’t break the spell because there wasn’t one to break. Maybe it wasn’t magic that was making Robert kiss the Lady Chrissie with such passion. Maybe he really wanted her. 

The thundering footsteps announced the arrival of Lord White in the doorway, accompanied by several of his men. Aaron was pushed roughly to the side. Only Lord White’s roar of fury at what he saw in the room seemed to have any impact on Robert and the Lady Chrissie. 

They parted instantly, but still held onto one another, and stared at Lord White and the other gathered arrivals as though they hadn’t got a care in the world.  

“What are you doing in here?” Robert asked in surprise and what looked like indignation. 

Lord White looked ready to explode as he glared at Robert. “How dare you!” 

“How dare I?” Robert replied. “I beg your pardon, but you are the one who has burst in here uninvited, Sir. What is the meaning of this interruption?” 

Aaron’s mouth was hanging open in absolute horror at the way Robert was speaking so rudely to the Lord. He couldn’t understand what he was thinking. 

“Unhand my daughter immediately,” White commanded. 

But Robert merely wrapped his arm around the woman more tightly.

“Father,” she said sweetly, “what on Earth is the matter? Can you not see that Prince Robert and I are in love?”

While Lord White’s face became more red, Aaron felt the colour rush out of his. He almost felt sick at the words. How could this be? None of it made sense. He’d been so convinced that Robert must have been under a spell of some sort, but he’d tried to break it, he’d tried to free Robert from whatever was making him behave so oddly, and it hadn’t worked. At first he’d thought he’d failed, but he was slowly coming to the realisation that maybe Robert actually wanted to be with the Lady Chrissie. Tears stung his eyes, but he blinked them back furiously because he needed to focus and hear whatever was being said.  
  
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Lord White snapped at his daughter.  
  
She looked up at Robert with wide eyes and nudged him a little.  
  
“I will not have you addressing my love in such a manner,” Robert said angrily. “We intend to marry and you have no business interfering.”  
  
Aaron felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. He actually staggered a little and he felt like everything was fuzzy around him for a moment. Robert wanted to _marry_ her? It didn’t make any sense.  
  
“Marriage?!” Lord White’s yell was exactly what Aaron wanted to scream at Robert, but, of course, he couldn’t. He had no right, no importance, and clearly, no place in Robert’s heart.  
  
“How dare you even suggest that you would be worthy of marrying _my_ daughter? I will not allow such an insult to pass,” Lord White continued. “You must be held accountable for your behaviour. You have offended my honour.” With that, he pulled off one of his leather gloves and threw it to the floor: a challenge of a duel extended to Robert.  
  
“Father!” the Lady Chrissie gasped.  
  
“ _Robert_!” The King’s voice boomed through the room. He had appeared at the doorway just in time to witness Lord White’s challenge.  
  
“Is this dalliance really worth your life?” Lord White asked angrily.  
  
Robert puffed out his chest and stared at White arrogantly. “I love your daughter,” he declared. “I will do whatever it takes to prove my love and win her hand in marriage.” He looked down at the woman who was staring up at him with a dreamy look on her face and then he kissed her again in front of everyone in the room.  
  
Aaron couldn’t stay to watch or hear anything more. His heart hurt too much. He turned and forced his way through the crowd gathered in the room and ran down the corridor cursing Robert for his actions, and cursing himself for confusing what had developed between them and falling for him in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you aren't familiar with the episode that this fic is based on ('Sweet Dreams'), the episode was full of over-the-top, silly moments where the prince tried to declare his love for the visiting noblewoman but she wasn't having any of it until she ended up under the same spell (thanks to the lock of the Prince's hair under her pillow). There was a lot of confusion caused by miscommunication and there were some sad moments for Arthur's (Robert's) true love.   
> I hope that makes sense - I just wanted to explain what was going on with Robert 'off-screen' and what happened in the Merlin TV series.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay with this update - work has been absolutely crazy (and shows no signs of improving!).  
> Thought I'd try to get something done for anyone that's still reading this, even though it's a fairly short chapter.

Aaron hadn’t left his room for the rest of the evening: not when Paddy had asked him what was wrong, or prepared him something to eat, and not when he normally would have gone to Robert’s chambers to help the Prince prepare for bed. He just couldn’t do it. He’d laid on his bed simultaneously trying not to think about what had happened and trying to work out what _had_ actually happened. His head was all over the place and his heart was hurting.

  
As the night had worn on, he’d contemplated packing his meagre possessions, shoving his book of magic (the only valuable thing he owned) into the bottom of his bag, and leaving Camelot altogether. He knew his mother would welcome him back with open arms and he could nurse his broken heart in peace. But by the morning, he’d come to the decision that he had to stay.

Supposedly his destiny was to protect Robert, to be the other half to Robert in some way, and he couldn’t just walk away from that. He called upon all of his strength and got up ready to face the day and whatever shocks Robert might throw at him. But deep in his heart, he knew that he would find it nearly impossible to remain as Robert’s manservant if the Prince went through with his plan to marry the Lady Chrissie. It would be too painful to watch from the sidelines. So while Aaron wouldn’t abandon Robert completely, maybe he’d have to find another way to help him.  
***  
Raised voices travelled along the stone corridor towards Aaron as he approached Robert’s chambers. He might have been alarmed but the familiar voice of the King booming out wasn’t unusual, especially when it came to Robert. The Prince was often on the receiving end of a dressing-down from his father, so hearing the King shouting at his son on that morning wasn’t a surprise. Despite Aaron knowing how unfairly harsh the King often was with his son, he couldn’t help but feel a little pleased that someone else was as outraged as he was about the proposed marriage between Robert and the Lady Chrissie.

  
“Your behaviour could lead the kingdom to war!” the King declared as Aaron quietly slipped into the room. He’d been present many times before when the King had let loose on Robert and usually he hated it. He hated watching Robert getting shouted out and belittled by his own father. But today he was desperately hoping that something the King said might actually make it through to Robert and he’d finally see sense.

  
“You seem completely oblivious to the catastrophe this could cause. Lord White has demanded a fight to defend his daughter’s honour.”

  
Robert actually laughed. “He’s a pompous old fool and he’s overreacting,” he said as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

  
“Robert!” his father snapped. “Do you not realise how serious this is? He wants your head for this insult.”

  
Again Robert laughed at his father’s words and Aaron couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. The relationship between the King and the Prince was often tense, but Robert had become the master of listening to his father’s ranting and complaints about his behaviour or his attitude or his lack of respect for the position he held, and nodding in the correct places and holding his tongue more often than not. Aaron had never seen him laugh in his father’s face.

  
The King’s rising temper was obvious as he stared at his son in disbelief.

  
“He’s an old man, father,” Robert replied easily. “Does he really think he can beat me in a fight?”

  
“That is hardly the point,” the King said. “Either way, your actions could lead us to war. The whole point of the visit was to agree the peace treaties and your attitude is actually more likely to drag the kingdom into conflict again.”

  
“Marrying the Lady Chrissie will bring peace,” Robert insisted. He had that dreamy look on his face again that just didn’t seem right to Aaron. “Our marriage will unite the lands and show that love conquers all.”

  
The King threw his hands up in despair. He spun on his heel to leave the room and, for the first time, realised that Aaron was present. “Try and talk some sense into him,” he ordered. “He seems to listen to you more than anyone else for some reason.”

  
Once, not so long ago, Aaron might have believed that that was true, but the Robert standing before him at that moment seemed so far away from the one that Aaron knew, the one that Aaron could reason with and talk to, the one that Aaron loved.

  
Robert had scowled at his father’s retreating form and slumped himself down on his bed.

  
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” he said as Aaron approached him. “You’d think he’d be pleased that I’ve found the woman I want to marry. He’s always going on about it, after all.”

  
The words struck another blow against Aaron’s fragile heart, but he had to persevere: he had to try to talk some sense into Robert.

“Where has all of this come from?” he asked after taking a deep breath to prepare himself for the conversation.

  
Robert sat up on the edge of the bed and frowned at him in apparent confusion.  
“What a strange question!” he declared. “How is anyone supposed to know where love comes from? It just happens.”

  
Aaron clenched his hands into fists at his sides, hardly holding on to his emotions. He blew out an unsteady breath. “But...are you sure this is what you want? I’m mean, your father is furious about it and...well, is a duel with Lord White really going to help. Surely it’s just going to lead to more trouble and what if your father’s right? What if it causes a war?”

  
Robert laughed as though the suggestion was absolutely preposterous. “I will defeat Lord White in this ridiculous event he’s demanded and then I will be noble in my victory over him. And he will have no choice but to forget his objections to me marrying his daughter. As for a war, that just sounds like my father being dramatic.”

  
Aaron had known that Robert could be an arrogant arse at times: he’d known it since the first day he’d met him and he’d seen Robert’s cockiness get him into trouble more than once. But this attitude was extreme, even for Robert. Despite knowing that his magic had been useless, and therefore accepting that Robert wasn’t under a spell of any sort, Aaron still couldn’t believe that Robert was behaving in such a way.

  
“But I didn’t think you even liked her!” Aaron exclaimed in frustration, unable to keep his emotions under control any longer. “You said you couldn’t stand any of them. You said she was stuck up and a viper.”

  
Instantly, Robert pushed himself up to stand and glared at Aaron. “How dare you!” he snapped. The anger was written all over his face. “How dare you speak of the woman I love in such a way! Who do you think you are?”

  
Aaron could feel himself trembling - not with fear, but with anguish and shock and confusion that Robert was speaking to him the way he was. “I’m just concerned about you. I want to make sure you’re alright,” he managed to say, but his voice was shaky.

  
“And what business is it of yours?” Robert said angrily.

  
Aaron swallowed thickly. “I’m your friend,” he said quietly. Even if there was obviously never going to be anything more between them, he would always want to be there for Robert. And their relationship was something far more than servant and master after all the years they’d been side-by-side.

Robert clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at Aaron. “I would expect a friend of mine to be happy for me,” he said. “You clearly need reminding of your position if you think it is acceptable to come in here and speak to me like we are equals.”

“Robert,” Aaron murmured, unable to believe how Robert was speaking to him. It had been years since Robert had acted like a spoilt prince in his presence and he couldn’t even remember a time when Robert had spoken to him so harshly.

“Sire would be more appropriate,” Robert said bluntly, the angry expression still on his face. “Until you can show the appropriate respect, I don’t want you here. Get out of my sight,” he dismissed Aaron with a wave of his hand and turned away from him.

“Yes…sire,” Aaron forced out, before he turned and rushed from the room. He ran out of the castle, not stopping when people he knew called out to see if he was alright, until he reached the huge walls surrounding the castle. Slipping out of one of the gates, he ran along the edge of the wall and slumped down against it. Leaning back against the wall, he finally allowed the tears to fall.

The way Robert had treated him hurt like nothing had ever hurt before. His heart ached with it. It was almost as though Robert had forgotten everything they’d been through together, every moment that had bonded them over the years. How could he just brush aside the feelings that had developed between them? Because Aaron was sure it hadn’t been one-sided. He hadn’t been the only one spending a little too long gazing at the other. He hadn’t been the only one with a soppy smile on his face when the other one had done something daft or kind or gentle. He hadn’t been the only one breathing a sigh of relief when they checked one another over after yet another scrape with danger to find they were in one piece.

But Robert seemed like he didn’t even want Aaron near him anymore. Not even as a friend. Maybe not even as a servant. The thought was a lot like a punch to the gut. Maybe this was it. As much as he’d vowed to stay by Robert’s side and always be there for him, because that was supposedly his destiny, maybe it was time for him to leave. Maybe destiny was wrong. Maybe _he’d_ got it wrong, so completely, utterly wrong.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin against them, a few more silent tears tracking down his face. He felt like his time in Camelot was ending.

***

The following morning, Aaron decided to go back to Robert’s bedchamber. He didn’t know what he was expecting. He’d spent the previous day going back and forth between thinking it’d be for the best if he just left quietly without telling anyone and refusing to believe that he would actually have to do it. But he knew he couldn’t make a decision until he’d seen Robert again.

Anxious about how he would be received, he knocked on the door to Robert’s room and waited to be invited in. When he walked in, Robert looked at him in amused confusion.

“What on earth are you doing knocking?” he said brightly.

“I didn’t want to interrupt you, sire,” Aaron replied.

Robert actually laughed at the words. “That’s never stopped you before,” he told him. At Aaron’s expression, he stopped smiling and looked at him seriously. “Are you alright, Aaron?”

Aaron drew in a deep breath. He couldn’t keep track of what was going on. The day before, Robert had bitten his head off without warning; today he was checking if Aaron was alright. It didn’t make any sense. And it was like the previous day’s anger had been completely forgotten.

“I…I’m fine,” he lied. “I didn’t sleep well.” At least that part was true, he thought.

“Oh dear. That’s no good,” Robert told him. “I need you on top form for today. It’s the big fight, after all.”     

One thing that Aaron had managed to decide in the night as he’d lain awake was that he wouldn’t help prepare Robert for his duel and he wouldn’t attend to him during the fight. He just couldn’t put himself through it. Watching Robert fight for the chance to marry the woman he supposedly loved was just too much for Aaron to even contemplate. He had to stay away from the fight for his own sanity and to protect his heart as much as he could.

“I’m afraid…I won’t be able to attend to you today, sire,” Aaron said quietly.

Robert looked up at him sharply, his eyes wide, a frown on his face. “What do you mean?”

“I will not be at the duel. One of the knights will be able to take my place,” he told him.

“But…” Robert started and then shook his head slightly. He looked almost confused for a brief moment, before his face hardened. “You are my manservant. What could be more important than attending me at the fight?”

“There had been an outbreak of sickness in the lower town and Paddy has asked me to go into the forest to gather vital supplies for him to make a remedy,” Aaron said.

Robert looked entirely unimpressed. “I must admit that I’m disappointed,” he finally said. “But I will have to make do. See if you can find Adam and send him up to me immediately,” he ordered and then he grabbed his sword in its scabbard from the table and marched out of the room.

Sighing heavily, Aaron turned to leave the room. He had expected to be shouted at again, but somehow Robert’s ability to replace him so easily hurt even more.  


	5. Chapter 4

Aaron had returned to Robert’s bedchamber to complete his chores when he was sure that the Prince would be out of the way. He knew that the duel began at midday so he waited until a little while after that before he went back to the room.

He’d followed Robert’s instructions and found Adam outside in the morning sunshine, sparring with one of the other knights, and pulled him to one side to ask him to attend to Robert during the fight. Adam had looked at him quizzically: it was unheard of for Aaron to abandon Robert when he might need him, especially on an occasion such as the fight with Lord White. Worriedly, he asked Aaron if he was alright and what was going on and if he knew what Robert was playing at, but Aaron hadn’t been able to answer any of his questions. He’d merely repeated the request that Adam go to Robert and aid him in his preparations. Adam had frowned but done as his friend had asked without any further questions and Aaron had been relieved. He wouldn’t have been able to talk to Adam about what was happening without losing his control completely.

Aaron had set about his many daily tasks in Robert’s room while he knew there was no chance of the Prince interrupting him. He couldn’t face Robert at the moment. The window was open and in the distance he could hear the sounds of cheers from the crowd he knew would be gathered to watch the duel every so often as they were carried on the breeze. Each cheer was mocking him. Each cheer reminded him that Robert was out on the field competing to win the right to marry someone else.

He cleared away all of Robert’s discarded clothes and carried them down to the laundry. Then he tidied up the various scrolls and paperwork that Robert had left lying around on his desk. As he started pulling the bedclothes from Robert’s bed, the door flew open and startled him. His magic bubbled to the surface like it always did when he felt threatened, but it quickly retreated when he realised it was just Adam that had burst through the door.

Adam looked around the room quickly and when his eyes landed on Aaron, he marched over to him immediately.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

Aaron raised an eyebrow at him as if to point out that it was obvious. “What does it look like? I’m stripping the Prince’s bed.”

Adam raised his own eyebrow in response. “That’s not what I mean,” he said. “Why are you up here doing this instead of down there with Robert?”

Aaron looked down at the sheet he was holding and shrugged his shoulder. He couldn’t look Adam in the eye. “I...I can’t be there for him...not for this.”

Adam sighed heavily. “I know this must be really hard for you, but Robert needs you. The fight...it’s not going well.”

Aaron looked up at him at the words, frowning in confusion. Robert was the best swordsman in the kingdom; his reputation as an exceptional warrior preceded him and everyone in the land knew of his skill. It didn’t make any sense for him to be struggling in a duel with a man like Lord White.

“There’s something wrong,” Adam continued once he knew he had Aaron’s attention. “Robert...he’s just not himself...he’s not right.”

Aaron just shrugged again, but something felt wrong. Something in his gut was telling him that Robert needed him.

“It’s like...I don’t know...” Adam struggled to explain. “It’s like he’s enchanted.”

Aaron drew in a sharp breath at that. He didn’t need reminding of just how enamoured Robert was with his bride-to-be. “Yes, I can see that he’s enchanted,” he snapped. “He’s enchanted with the Lady Chrissie - that’s fairly obvious.”

“No,” Adam argued as Aaron grabbed hold of a pillow from the bed and started yanking the case off angrily. “It’s not that. He’s completely distracted: his head’s not on the fight at all. Lachlan is destroying him out there.”

Aaron paused for a moment and looked up. “Lachlan?” he asked in bewilderment.

“Lord White’s grandson,” Adam told him. “He’s the one fighting Robert. White must’ve nominated him to take his place. The lad’s beating Robert - which I can hardly believe - and that’s why I came to find you. Robert’s losing - badly. He’s going to get hurt.”

Aaron winced at the prospect of Robert being injured: he hated the thought of Robert getting hurt. But then he forced himself to stop thinking about it - Robert had made his decision and his feelings perfectly clear. Aaron had no idea why Lachlan would be fighting Robert but it made no difference who was involved. The fight was still taking place for the same reason: Robert loved the Lady Chrissie.

“I don’t know what you expect me to do about it,” he grumbled. He clearly didn’t have any say in Robert’s life anymore so there was no point interfering.

“Oh, come on,” Adam said. “You’re the only one who can talk any sense into him. You’re the only one who can help him.”

“Except I can’t!” Aaron exclaimed. “He basically told me he doesn’t want me around anymore. I can’t help him.”

“Aaron, the only time I’ve ever seen him this distracted before is when he’s been staring at you,” Adam said bluntly.

Aaron’s eyes widened and he felt his cheeks heat a little at the words, his mouth flapping open. But it didn’t matter now. Robert didn’t want him. It was over and he wouldn’t allow himself to pretend anymore.

“Well,” he said and he cleared his throat before he could continue, “it’s not like it matters anymore. He’s made it clear that he loves the Lady Chrissie.”

“He’s under a spell!” Adam yelled at him, his frustration with his friend’s stubbornness about the situation finally making him snap. “He must be.”

“No, he’s not!” Aaron shouted back. “Don’t you think I thought of that?” He lowered his voice considerably before he continued: Adam was one of the very few people who knew of his magic and he trusted him completely with his secret, but he wasn’t about to start shouting about it for anyone to hear. “I tried to use magic and it didn’t work. I couldn’t remove any spells from him so he’s not enchanted. At least not like that.”

He resumed his task, pulling the pillows from the bed, wanting Adam to leave so he could be free of the conversation. He knew his friend meant well but going around in circles and being reminded over and over that Robert didn’t want him was too painful.

As he yanked yet another pillow from its place, Adam spoke up again.

“What’s that?” he asked: his voice was a mixture of confusion and disgust.

Aaron paused to look up at him and followed where his finger was pointing to the bed. There was what appeared to be a lock of hair lying on the sheet where Aaron had just lifted the pillow from. He leant forward and picked it up suspiciously, frowning as he inspected it. It was too dark to be Robert’s and there was no obvious explanation for why a neatly-tied lock of hair would be under his pillow...

Aaron’s thoughts came to a crashing halt. The only reason why anyone would put hair under someone’s pillow like that was because they were performing a spell...a love spell.

He stared at Adam in shock, the hair still held tightly between his fingers.

“Robert’s enchanted,” he said simply.

Adam rolled his eyes at him and threw his hands into the air. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” he replied.

“You didn’t know for sure,” Aaron argued. “But this is proof. And anyway we haven’t got time for this: we need to go back to Paddy’s so we can figure out what to do.”

***

They’d raced back to the tower to Paddy’s rooms. As soon as they’d burst in, Aaron had asked Paddy for his help in searching through any of his old (highly illegal) books for anything to do with love spells and how to break them. Aaron had disappeared into his own room, lifted the floorboard carefully and pulled out his most precious possession - his book of magic. He’d returned to Adam and Paddy, and sat down beside them to begin scouring the ancient, yellowed pages.

It was a race against time: from what Adam had said, Robert was losing the fight and hadn’t even seemed to notice that he was getting beaten. When Lachlan had landed a blow, Robert had been winded but as soon as he’d looked up at Chrissie, he’d laughed off the pain and continued with the bout as though nothing had happened. It was obvious from Adam’s recount that Robert was under such a powerful spell that all sense of self-preservation and sensible decision making had abandoned him. He was going to end up getting himself killed.

“This is ridiculous,” Aaron growled as he slammed his hand down on the table beside the open book. “There are 636 love spells in these books and over 150 of them require a lock of hair!”

“Well, how are we supposed to break the spell if we can’t work out which one it is?” Adam sighed in frustration.

Paddy tutted loudly from across the table. “We don’t need to know which one it is specifically. Haven’t you noticed what they all have in common?”

Both Aaron and Adam looked at him blankly and then Aaron looked back down at the page in front of him trying to find what Paddy was referring to.

“All of the spells can be reversed by the same thing,” Paddy continued. “The solution is obvious.”

“Come on then,” Adam said impatiently. “What is it?”

“The spell can be reversed if Robert receives a kiss from his one true love,” Paddy explained. He spoke quite slowly as though he were explaining it to someone who would have trouble understanding what he was saying.

Aaron’s head snapped up immediately and he blinked at Paddy a few times.

There was a long moment of silence as everyone in the room considered what Paddy had just said. Aaron looked between his two friends, wondering why they were staring at him quite so intently, before he spoke.

“Great. So now we just have to find Robert’s one true love. That shouldn’t be too difficult,” he said sarcastically.

Both Adam and Paddy’s mouths flapped open in disbelief and Aaron raised an eyebrow at their matching expressions.

“Aaron, you can’t be serious!” Paddy exclaimed as he shook his head.

“What?” Aaron replied defensively.

“Bloody hell!” Adam shouted suddenly and he stood up abruptly and pointed down at Aaron’s confused face. “It’s you, you idiot! You are Robert’s one true love!” He turned to Paddy and threw his hands up in the air. “Can he really be this oblivious?”

It was Aaron’s turn to stare at them in shock. “Me?” he asked after a moment. After both Adam and Paddy had nodded at him, he sat very still and very quiet as he tried to think it through. Suddenly, he pushed himself up from the wooden bench. “It’s me, isn’t it?”

At Adam and Paddy’s deep sighs and nods, his eyes widened. “I’ve got to go! I’ve got to get down there and stop him before he does something stupid...well, even more stupid.”

With that, he and Adam rushed out of Paddy’s chambers and down the stone steps of the tower, and then started running towards where the duel was taking place, desperately hoping that they weren’t too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think there’ll be one more chapter to go after this one. Feedback would be lovely, please.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said in the last chapter that there was only one more to go but I changed my mind - I decided to split it into two shorter chapters instead. And that meant I could post this update today! So this is the penultimate chapter - one more to go after this.

Aaron and Adam raced through the castle and out into the sunshine of the courtyard. They ran down the main street in the centre of Camelot’s market place and headed towards the tournament ground where the fight was taking place. The sounds of the crowd ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ and gasping in shock were getting louder and they could hear the clang of metal against metal as they approached.

They slowed slightly as they made their way to the ring at the centre of the field. The tiered wooden seating around the ring was filled with nobles and knights from Camelot and the visiting dignitaries, all watching anxiously to see what the outcome of the match would be. The King sat on his throne at the centre of a raised dais - frown in place - watching as intently as everyone else. His daughter, the Princess Victoria, sat beside him chewing her lip nervously. And the Lady Chrissie was sitting smiling dreamily on the other side. Next to her, her father was glaring furiously, yet he was looking rather pleased at the same time. The rest of the area was packed with everyday folk from Camelot, enjoying the opportunity to have a day away from their usual mundane chores and cheering on their Prince.

The current round ended to massive cheers and applause just as they arrived and Aaron watched as Robert blew a kiss towards the Lady Chrissie and then limped away from the ring towards his private tent. He also watched as Chrissie’s son, Lachlan, who was Robert’s opponent and shouldn’t have been anywhere near a match for him, followed him with his eyes and smiled smugly to himself before disappearing to his own tent.

They made their way to Robert’s tent and paused outside.

“Adam, wait out here and make sure no-one comes in to see Robert,” Aaron instructed his friend before he parted the folds in the material and slipped inside the large tent.

Robert had his back to the entrance to the tent and Aaron took a moment to take a deep breath and try to calm his racing heart. This was it. To break the spell, he was going to kiss Robert. He’d pictured the moment plenty of times; he’d never imagined it quite like this. But what if it didn’t work? What if Robert backed away from him in shock and disgust? That would mean Robert didn’t love him and he wasn’t sure he could handle that feeling, that rejection.

He loved Robert with his whole heart. He wanted to be with him so badly, but they’d always had to push whatever was developing between them to the side for both of their sakes. The love he felt for Robert had become something precious, something to be protected, and now the thought of risking that love, of taking the chance and it backfiring, ruining everything completely...it was terrifying.

Robert turned around suddenly and raised an eyebrow at Aaron when he saw him standing just inside the tent.

“Nice of you to show up,” he said sarcastically. “I didn’t think you were coming to assist me. Where’s Adam?”

Aaron swallowed thickly. He had to remind himself that Robert wasn’t himself: his harsh words weren’t his own, not really. They were words caused by the spell that had completely taken over Robert’s mind and his heart.

“I’ve come to help you,” he said simply. He took a few small steps closer to Robert.

Robert huffed out a bitter laugh. “Well, I should think so,” he turned away from Aaron as he continued grumbling. “You’d think my own servant would’ve come to attend to me for such an important event.”

His words stung, but Aaron tried his best to ignore them.

“Anyway,” Robert said as he turned back to face Aaron, “I’m not sure I need any assistance. The fight is going rather well. I’d say it’ll be over after another round. I’m trying to go easy on the lad, but I think it’s time to bring things to their conclusion and get this over with.”

Aaron took another step towards him. “You’re bleeding,” he said. He pointed to Robert’s eyebrow where a long cut was bleeding freely, bright red dripping down the side of his face.

Robert reached up and touched his face, frowning in complete surprise when he pulled his fingers away and saw they were covered in sticky red blood. It looked like he had no idea that he was injured in any way. He stared at his fingers thoughtfully, but then seemed to snap out his trance and shrugged his shoulders as though the injury was completely irrelevant.

“It’s just a scratch,” he told Aaron. “The boy must have caught me at some point, but I didn’t even notice so it can’t be too bad.”

His words caused even more concern to rush through Aaron. The wound on Robert’s brow was deep enough to require stitches, that much was obvious just from looking at it from a distance, but Robert hardly seemed to even notice it. He was dreading what other injuries he might not even be aware of. His obliviousness to his situation was frightening and Aaron cursed himself for not noticing how truly oddly Robert was acting until now.

“Anyway, now you’re here you can make yourself useful,” Robert continued. “Don’t just stand there, Aaron.”

Aaron closed the remaining gap between them and stood in front of Robert. He looked up at him and took a deep breath.

It was like there was no recognition in Robert’s eyes whatsoever. He was looking at Aaron as though he was nothing more than a servant and Aaron hesitated for a moment, terrified that maybe he’d got it all wrong.

“I have a fight to win,” Robert said impatiently.

That was it. Aaron snapped. “Shut up, Robert,” he said bluntly. He had just enough time to see the shocked, disgruntled expression on Robert’s face, the retort about to spill from his lips, before he leant up, wrapped his hand around the back of Robert’s neck and pulled him into a kiss.

There was a long moment of absolutely no reaction from Robert. His lips were pressed against Aaron’s but he was completely frozen. A vision of Robert pushing him away in anger and disgust flashed through Aaron’s head.

But then Robert came alive. He surged forwards, arms encircling Aaron as he pulled him flush against his body. His tongue ran across Aaron’s lips and he instantly parted them to allow Robert’s tongue to lick into his mouth. Robert walked them backwards until he pressed Aaron up against the wooden pole in the centre of the tent. And then he kissed him with as much passion as Aaron had always imagined he would. It was like he couldn’t get enough.

Robert’s hands moved into Aaron’s hair and then down his back to his hips, pulling him closer still, so their bodies were pressed together.

And then Robert gasped and pulled away. He staggered backwards slightly and Aaron rushed to support him: the heat and passion of the minutes before replaced with concern.

“Robert?” he asked quietly.

Robert groaned softly as he hunched over slightly, clutching at his stomach, one arm over Aaron’s shoulder to hold him upright. “What...what is going on? What’s happened to me?”

Aaron didn’t know whether to be relieved or not that Robert seemed to have been released from the clutches of the spell. He looked utterly bewildered and the pain he was suddenly aware of was apparent on his face as he winced.

Aaron didn’t really know where to start and he also didn’t have much time. The next round of the fight would be due to start soon.

“You’ve been under a spell,” he said quickly. At Robert’s shocked, wide-eyed expression, he quickly continued. “I don’t know who was responsible, or why they did it, but someone had cast a love spell on you.”

“A love spell?” Robert frowned in disbelief. “Who was I supposed to be in love with? And why do I feel like I’ve been in fight with a boar?” He wrapped his arms around his abdomen again.

“Here,” Aaron said as he started unfastening the armour on Robert’s upper body. He spoke as he worked: his fingers moving deftly to complete the task he’d done so many times before. “You were bewitched to be ‘in love’ with the Lady Chrissie.”

Robert gaped at him in apparent outrage. “The Lady Chrissie? Oh bloody hell.” It seemed that he was already aware of the implications of such a thing.

“Lord White wasn’t too impressed,” Aaron continued. “He challenged you to a duel, but it turned out that his grandson, Lachlan, has taken his place in the fight. You’ve been so distracted...you’re losing, badly.” Aaron removed the main plate of armour from Robert’s chest and he watched carefully as Robert drew in a sharp breath and grunted in pain, again clutching at his middle.

“That would explain the pain then,” he said thoughtfully. “But I still don’t understand. Why would someone do this? And why didn’t anyone realise what had happened?” He looked up at Aaron. “You must have known - how did you break the spell?”

Aaron looked down at his shoes. “I don’t know why someone would want to do this, except if they wanted to cause a war. However the fight went, it would’ve caused tension. And Lachlan isn’t exactly holding back: from what Adam told me, it sounds like he wanted your head.”

“Do you think he’s behind all of this?” Robert asked.

Aaron considered it. It would make sense - Lachlan seemed to be conveniently around every time there was some issue about Robert and the Lady Chrissie. And the fact that he’d taken his grandfather’s place in the fight was suspicious.

“He could be,” Aaron shrugged. “But right now, we need to decide what to do. We need...”

Suddenly, the tent flaps were flung open and the King marched in, a scowl on his face as he stared at his son.

“What are you playing at, Robert?” his father snapped. “The next round is starting and you’re in here relaxing, not even prepared. This whole spectacle is an embarrassment: you’re letting that boy destroy you out there. I cannot believe you’re disappointing me in front of so many important guests.”

Aaron had been watching Robert’s face closely, watching as his shoulders slumped and he looked defeated not only by his injuries but by his father’s words.

“Your Majesty,” he interrupted the King’s ranting. It was a dangerous move: the King didn’t take kindly to anyone stopping him mid-tirade. But Aaron couldn’t allow Robert to stand there and take the blame for something he had no control over. And he’d only just woken up from the thrall of the spell so he was hardly in a position to defend himself against his fuming father.

The King turned his head to glare at Aaron and Aaron bowed slightly in deference.

“Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I only interrupted you because I needed to make you aware of what has happened to the Prince.”

It was risky to tell the King about the sorcery involved. King Jack was adamantly opposed to the use of magic and was quick to react with anger and violence against those who practised anything related to the Old Religion. But Aaron was hoping that he would keep his cool in this instance. No-one wanted to risk war by accusing anyone else of using magic.

“Your son has been under a spell,” Aaron told him.

“What?” The King erupted, looking between Aaron and Robert in anger and confusion.

“Someone had placed him under a love spell which would explain his behaviour.”

The King’s eyes narrowed and his brain was obviously already trying to establish what had happened and who might be responsible.

“Robert?” he said, obviously expecting some sort of confirmation from his son.

Robert shook his head slowly. “I don’t remember anything. I couldn’t even remember why I was here until Aaron told me what was going on.”

“How do you know he was under a spell?” the King asked as he looked back at Aaron. “What proof do you have?”

Knowing how dangerous it would be to give anything about himself away, Aaron swallowed thickly before he answered. “I found a lock of hair beneath the Prince’s pillow and I thought it was suspicious, especially with how strangely he’d been behaving.” That part at least was the truth. The next part was going to be less honest. “I took it to Paddy and he suggested that we should destroy it because if it was sorcery, it would hopefully break the spell. And he was right.” It was relatively safe to mention Paddy seeing as he was the court physician and the King always turned to him for advice on matters of sorcery.

The King’s nostrils flared and the hateful anger was obvious in his eyes. “My son has been the victim of a plot to destroy him by using sorcery. We must find the culprit immediately and take action against our enemies. How dare someone come into the Kingdom and threaten us with such things?”

“Father,” Robert finally spoke up. He looked terrible as far as Aaron was concerned. He was pale, blood was still dripping from the wound on his forehead and his arms were wrapped around his abdomen again. “We mustn’t do anything too rash. If we go out there and start accusing our guests of using sorcery, we will end up starting a war and I have the feeling that whoever was behind this wanted that. We’d be giving them exactly what they wanted. We need to be cautious and clever, and we need to bide our time to figure out exactly what to do about this threat.”

The King still looked furious, but eventually he nodded in agreement. “This is why sorcery is banned in Camelot and should be banned in all of the kingdoms, Robert,” he said sternly. “It is used by those who have evil plans and want to cause suffering.”

Aaron drew in a deep breath to steady his racing heart. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard the King spewing his vitriolic words about magic users and their gifts, but it still hurt him to listen to it. He didn’t know why the King hated sorcery so much but he knew that he would never be changed.

As he listened to the King’s words, he glanced over at Robert, hoping that he wouldn’t be nodding in agreement with his father’s words. He wasn’t: instead his eyes met Aaron’s and he looked sad, not full of hate and anger like his father. Aaron stared at him and for a moment he was sure that Robert was trying to tell him something with the look in his eyes, but then they both had to look away when the King demanded their attention again.

“How exactly are we going to explain this to the spectators and Lord White outside without giving away the fact that we have discovered the truth?”

Robert forced himself to stand a little straighter, visibly clenching his jaw against the pain. “I will go out there and concede the fight. I will apologise to Lord White for any offence I have caused with my actions. And I will remind everyone present of why we called this gathering together in the first place - to secure a lasting peace.”

Aaron couldn’t have been more proud of Robert: in that moment, he could see the type of King that Robert would become, and he could hardly wait for the day when it would become a reality.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the end of another story. Hope you enjoy it - please, let me know.

Robert had done an amazing job of smoothing everything over. Aaron had always known that he was charming and able to talk his way out of things, but watching him address the crowd and apologise to Lord White and talk about how peace was what the land needed and what the people deserved was a moving moment. 

And seeing how much Robert had grown as a person was also pretty special. When Aaron had first met Robert, he’d thought he was a pompous, smug git. He’d disliked him and his attitude and decided that Robert was a spoilt Prince who thought he deserved everything handing to him. But over the years, he’d seen a different side to Robert. Despite that, Robert could still be stubborn and make stupid decisions and say unkind things, but when he stood in front of the gathered nobles and took responsibility for something that wasn’t even his fault, Aaron fell a little bit more in love with him.

The crowd had dispersed (some of them clearly confused about why the duel had come to such an abrupt conclusion), Lord White had accepted Robert’s apology and actually shook his hand, and even Robert’s father had patted him on the shoulder to congratulate him for a job well done.

Lord White had all but dragged his daughter away as she still stared at Robert and batted her eyelashes at him desperately. Aaron had realised that her side of the spell obviously hadn’t been broken. If it took being kissed by their one true love to break the spell, the Lady Chrissie might have to wait for some time to be released.

There was one other person who didn’t seem satisfied by the end of the dispute and that was Lord White’s grandson, Lachlan. Aaron had watched him glaring at Robert, the hate almost burning in his eyes, before he turned to follow his grandfather and mother away from the ring.

Robert had let everyone else depart from the area before he’d slowly started limping back towards the castle. Aaron had followed him, carrying his belongings. They hadn’t spoken a word. Even when Aaron had helped Robert to his room, prepared a bath for him and given him some fresh clothes to change into, they hadn’t said anything to one another. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence: they were both just lost in their own thoughts.

***

It was dark outside. Aaron had left Robert in his chamber and taken his armour downstairs. He’d have to clean it but the job could wait until tomorrow. He wearily made his way back up to Robert’s room to check if he needed anything else before he retired for the night. He felt exhausted, like the emotional distress of the last few days had finally caught up with him and drained his energy. He could only imagine how Robert would be feeling after what had happened.

Pushing the door open carefully, just in case Robert had already fallen asleep, he walked quietly into the room. Robert wasn’t asleep: he was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking much fresher after his bath and wearing clean clothes. He seemed lost in thought, staring at the wall opposite, but as Aaron approached, he snapped out of his trance and looked up at him.

“Are you alright, Rob?” Aaron asked.

“I feel like one large bruise,” Robert replied.

Aaron thought he looked a bit like one too. There were bruises on his face and he was still clutching his stomach so he guessed there were bruises there too. The cut above his eyebrow had been stitched and Aaron realised that Paddy must have paid Robert a visit and treated the wound.

Robert looked at him steadily and swallowed. “I feel terrible,” he said quietly.

Something like panic fluttered in Aaron’s stomach. What if Robert was seriously injured and no-one had realised? What if he was feeling some side-effects from the remnants of the spell?

“Do you want me to go and get Paddy?” he asked immediately. He stepped a little closer to Robert to try to establish where he was hurt.

“No,” Robert replied. He looked up at Aaron. “I don’t mean I feel ill. I mean...I feel awful about the way I treated you. While you were gone, everything came flooding back to me. I can’t believe how I behaved. I can’t believe what a fool I must have looked in front of everyone. But worst of all,” he pushed himself up to stand in front of Aaron. There was only a tiny space between them. “Worst of all, I can’t believe how I treated you. I was awful. The way I spoke to you...I’m so ashamed. It must have hurt you so badly.”

Aaron looked down but shook his head slightly. “It wasn’t you,” he said quietly. “It was the spell.”

“You know that I’d never hurt you like that - not on purpose,” Robert told him.

Aaron looked up at him again. “I know,” he confirmed.

Robert smiled a little at him. “You never told me how you managed to break the spell. Because I know you didn’t just throw the hair in the fire.”

Aaron felt warm suddenly and he stepped away from Robert, pretending to busy himself with tidying up the clothes that had been thrown onto the bed. He hadn’t realised that Robert had stepped up behind him until he felt hands on his waist turning him around. He looked up at Robert and his mouth went dry. He wanted to kiss him so much. He swallowed thickly.

Robert was looking at him with a similar expression. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?” he murmured.

Aaron’s heart thudded in his chest. There were so many things he wanted to tell Robert. Like the fact that his kiss had broken the spell because he was Robert’s one true love. And the fact that he had magic and that was how he’d eventually found the answer in a spell book. But he couldn’t say those things. And he sort of hoped that Robert knew the first one anyway.

Instead of answering, he leant up and pressed a kiss to Robert’s lips. He’d expected it to be quick and chaste, but Robert wasn’t having any of that as he wrapped his arms around Aaron’s back, just like he had in the tent, and pulled him close.

Their kissing became desperate and passionate quickly. They’d been holding on to so much emotion, so much desire for one another, for so long that the opportunity to release it suddenly became overwhelming.

Robert pressed Aaron back against one of the wooden posts in the corner of his bed just like he had in the tent the first time that they had kissed. His fingers slid into the short hair at the back of Aaron’s head and then his hands roamed down his back and then to his hips: it was like he didn’t know where to touch or hold Aaron first.

And Aaron almost didn’t know what to do with himself either. Kissing Robert, being in Robert’s arms, was everything he’d wanted for so long. The moment almost felt surreal, like it couldn’t possibly be happening.

He never wanted it to end but a tiny rational part of his brain reminded him that no matter how amazing it was, and how much they both wanted it, they couldn’t continue like this. There were good reasons why they’d never crossed this line before and they had to remember that before it was too late. If they allowed this moment to escalate to something more, they’d never be able to go back. And Aaron knew that he wouldn’t want to. He couldn’t have this with Robert just once and he knew that the risk of them trying to continue in secret was just too great. It would never work.

Reluctantly, he drew his mouth away from Robert’s. He smiled a little as Robert chased his lips, but he leant back as far as he could and pressed his palms against Robert’s chest.

“We can’t,” he whispered.

Robert sighed and hung his head a little. “I know,” he murmured, the disappointment obvious in his tone. He looked up at Aaron again. “But I really want to.”

Aaron smiled softly at him again. “It’s all we can have for now.”

Robert nodded in agreement. “I know,” he repeated quietly. “But someday...” he trailed off and looked into Aaron’s eyes intently. “I promise you.”

Aaron smiled at him again. The promise, although it wasn’t what he really wanted at that moment, was enough for now. “I’ll go and fetch you some supper, my Lord,” he added with a teasing wink. Robert merely rolled his eyes at the formal address, knowing that for now they’d need to keep up the pretence of just being master and servant.

‘Someday,’ Aaron thought to himself as he left Robert’s chambers. His magic stirred within him: things weren’t perfect, but both he and his magic felt strangely contented.

***

The following morning, Robert was ever the Prince, living up to his royal duties despite his soreness and exhaustion from the trials of the days before. He stood alongside his father as the peace treaties were signed by all of the visiting nobles. A lasting peace for the land was secured despite the best efforts of some unknown enemy who had hidden in the shadows and tried to destroy Camelot and Robert all in one go using magic.

After the treaties were signed and hands were shaken and everyone was congratulated on a job well done, the visitors collected the last of their belongings and prepared to leave Camelot.

Robert accompanied his father to the steps outside the castle and stood politely waving off the nobles and their families and entourages. Aaron stood beside Robert as always, watching him with pride and love bursting in his chest.

The Lady Chrissie was rather reluctant to depart, but her father managed to get her moving eventually, although she looked back at Robert forlornly from atop her horse as she rode away.

Her son glared at Robert as he too rode away. His eyes were fixed on Robert and Aaron scowled at Lachlan as he moved off. He felt sure that Lachlan had been behind the spell that had caused Robert so much trouble and nearly destroyed any chance of peace. As Lachlan narrowed his eyes at Robert, Aaron knew that the look in his eyes was a promise that whatever he was planning wasn’t over.

Robert turned his head to look at Aaron and he knew that Robert had felt the same thing as he’d matched Lachlan’s stare. Something silent passed between them. Another promise that whatever was coming, they’d face it together.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm snarfettelove on tumblr.


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